Posted on 08/24/2023 1:06:51 AM PDT by redheadedshannon
There's a big question confronting all right-wingers about American conservatism & our national future. In six months we are going to be heading into the 2024 election cycle. Another presidential election, congressional elections & state & local elections are all approaching. To say that it's a pivotal year almost produces a shoulder shrug with most people because that's been said about every election for the last 25 years.
Though I was only a toddler during his term, President Reagan, much like Thatcher in Britain was a solid & immovable champion of modern day conservatism. He was a happy warrior as well! His positivity and cheerful demeanor eventually convinced 49 out of 50 states to pull the lever for him. Looking back, he certainly made mistakes that in retrospect seem obvious (immigration amnesty anyone. To this day, he is viewed as a staunch conservative and patriot to his core. Certainly, this was the last time in the moder era that someone was so overwhelmingly supported by the population. Because of that, conservatism was viewed as ascendent and the default philosophy of most Americans.
Sadly most everything between then up to Trump took on an establishment tone of cheerless moderation & a unilateral aversion to the confrontation of philosophies. Maybe there were some positive aspect to 1994s Contract for America & the tea party movement 15 years after, but the most either produced were temporary periods of keeping Democrats out of power. Sadly I think we also learned toward the end of this period that although the establishment in the Republican Party claimed to be conservative, increasingly their brand of conservatism seemed painfully divorced from rank & & file conservative voter. They seemed geared toward big business, take it or leave it free trade deals, unfettered immigration, constitutional moderation & a bland cultural stance that didn't actively take a side. As a result, we bec a me a movement turning out in election cycles picking the lesser of two evils.
After a full 8 years of Obamas plan to remake America & a congenital lackluster performance by establishment Republicans in responding- conservative voters had made a clean break from Republicans in congress, right leaning media like Fox News & all of the leaders that had been deciding the fate of our side. We were all hyper aware that we could no longer support the Romneys & Bushes that had disappointed us at every turn & we were interested in direct warfare with the left.
At this point, Donald Trump walked onto the national stage. His brash manner & confrontational approa was something none of us had really seen speaking on behalf of conservatives. It was more like what we were used to out of Democrats. Rank & file response to seeing someone on our side not only fighting back, but moreso throwing the first punch was in a word- thrilling! Particularly since it was happening in an age where we were now experiencing the misery of political correctness and the daily voices and opinions it was working to silence, Trumps kind of response was something we were all yearning for.
I knew that Trumps credentials as a conservative weren't particularly well established. He was like a lot of people- different political parties at different stages in life. I think for most of us, it really wasn't a disqualifier. It was part of life. I knew maybe he wasn't particularly traditionalist & pious, or wedded to constitutiona absolutes & a much more limited government- but that he seemed to believe in enough basic, real world, common sense stuff that I knew he was certainly on our side. On top of that, he took a decidedly average guy conservative stance on issues that establishment types joined the left on- like immigration, falling wages, jobs being shipped overseas, cultural assimilation & opposition to victimology & group identity.
During this period & throughout Trumps term as president we willingly knew that we weren't ultimately deciding the future of conservatism or political philosophy. We were choosing to fight the issues the nation had been embroiled in for the last several years- ranging from culturally marxist political correctness & cancel culture to the disappearance of a guarded southern border & tens of millions of illegal aliens to elite abandonment of middle class Americans. At the very least, there would finally be a discussion with two sides on a national stage.
Trumps term was mostly what I expected- a confrontational president defending the issues & people who put him in office, a fight to overhaul the Republican Party & make it more representative of average people instead of elites, a thoroughly biased press core attacking on a daily basis, a foaming-at-the-mouth Democrat Party working against him and an all party establishment conspiring to undermine everything he said or did. He was constantly battling- most of it necessary, but also some petty stuff that seemed pointless.
His first election mid-term congressional election in 2018 wasn't surprising. Most of us expected a protest vote to show in full force. It happens to nearly all presidents. We ended up with a Democrat Congress, but that wasn't unexpected. I think most of us gave him high marks just on his fighting ability alone. He never backs down. I think we were all impressed with the judges he chose for the courts & his attention to the issues he campaigned on. By the end of his first term, I think most of us were overwhelmingly supportive of electing him again for a second term as president.
Having voted for him twice and remaining supportive of him throughout, I feel safe in making any criticisms of him because I have only our best thoughts at heart. It wasn't until 2020 that his flaws and downfalls became more apparent. I knew Biden wouldn't make as convenient opponent as Hillary. I could also see that Covid was designed to exact damage. What I wasn't expecting was Trumps inability to be nimble and change tactics when needed. I also was shocked at the number of unnecessary arguments with people on our side of the aisle that he started. The truth is, a president will create goodwill and support in his own party by campaigning for all of the candidates & training his criticism on the opposition. Instead he argued with anyone he perceived as not sufficiently loyal- a big mistake in an election year.
Many of us also began to notice the factionalism taking over our side & the us vs them mentality that was taking precedence over issues & winning elections. A lot of us could see in the year leading up to 2020 and the entirety of the election year, that our side needed to train its focus on reinforcing & strengthening election laws and undergirding every institution that we knew Democrats would attempt to undermine in Trumps reelection. Any president or leader in a branch of government and any head of a political party or philisophical movement should be concerned about election processes to ensure the stability of the nation. He was not paying attention & as a result Democrats changed election structures we ith the aid of Republicans throughout the nation's swing states. Some of this could have been avoided sith proper attention.
As a result of Covids designed impact on society & the lack of attention from political leaders on our side, we helped hand the 2020 election to Democrats on multiple levels. One of the aspects that conservatives have learned in spades due to that experience is that we have to keep our eyes on electoral procedures throughout the country and that the persons elected to represent our conservative philosophy, political party and movement-chief among them our president- should be leading the charge at all times. In this, Trump and all our representatives deserve criticism. When you are opposed by a party and movement that sees undermining American institutions as central to its philosophy, you should probably be concened above all else with any changes or weakening to election laws and standards.
On too many levels, Trumps failure by 2020 to predict what most of us with just a general familiarity of modern American politics could see from a million miles away was alarming. It's like knowing ahead of time that the Democrat in any election cycle is going to accuse the Republican of racism. Given everything that we know, isn't it a safe assumption that that will be part of their playbook & wouldn't it be smart to plan a response, or better yet- make sure that you are insulated from this tactic from the getgo.
The lack of basic political survival skills and working knowledge of government procedure were what handicapped us in 2020. The other handicap has been the unwillingness of Trump and Trumps most vocal supporters to even hear criticism and to change tactics in order to win elections. Too many of the flawed candidates that Trump campaigned for (usually based on perceived loyalty to him as the chief concernn) went down in flames because they were completely inexperienced, weren't well chosen for the race chosen or had too much baggage to win an election.
These aren't small matters or trivial complaints. They are both absolutely necessary to triumph electorally, build a lasting and working coalition and win the battle of ideas and heart and soul of the country. Particularly when you are fighting to maintain the basic constitutional rights that are your birthright, demanding absolute awareness and attentiveness of these things by all who seek to lead the nation and conservatism in general is imperative. It us therefore a severe handicap when a president and his unfailing supporters refuse to acknowledge this.
Trumps loss in 2020 almost certainly had something to do with Democrat election shenanigans and their push to weaken strong election procedures and oversight. But Trumps lack of foresight, petty arguments with others, bungling of issues & alienation of crucial parts of the electorate were also equally contributing factors. The entirety of that election year was mishandled and as a result we now have the most extreme leftist president occupying the Oval Office, wreaking havoc across the nation. We have also ceded practically every institution in this nation to leftist philosophical control because neither the establishment nor Trump came up with a working plan of how to fight against it.
2022 should have been a beacon election where we reestablished dominance- even if in opposition- to Democrats. But much like 2020, Trumps hand picked candidates (based on loyalty to him) again failed in races across the nation. Almost all solidly conservative candidates that Trump refused to endorse won large majorities in their races. He has not shown a good track record in figuring out how to win the last couple of elections. Ultimately it doesn't matter how much fight someone has if they don't have the skills to figure out how to win.
In the battlefield of ideas you need fight, but you also need skill in building coalitions, forming majorities, winning elections and enacting your visions. The old establishment seemed good at nothing. Trump seemed great at some stuff- but not others. Perhaps it's time to consider someone else for the job. One that show skills in winning elections and fighting for a conservative philosophy. One of the shining lights in the last few elections were staunchly conservative governors reelected by overwhelming majorities and racially diverse coalitions in major states like Florida, Texas and Virginia (DeSantis, Abbott, etc.). There are also newer conservative voices like Ramaswamy speaking out.
I have long thought that we needed to think longer term in regards to what we conservatives hope for in the future. The entire future of American conservatism should not be vested in any one man. It should be broader than that and able to weather multiple election cycles. It has to be geographically and ethnically more diverse than 50 years ago. It also needs to have happier and more hopeful disposition. The constant negativity that's become the norm has become self reinforcing. If we fail, we fail not because we are doomed to fail- but because we have lost faith in ourselves.
Elections and philosophical movements come down to a competition of ideas and who paints a more hopeful vision of the future. Every philosophical move gets stuck in a rut and forgets its happy disposition and friendly demeanor. Sometimes it starts to become a circular firing squad for a while, fights amongst itself and gets lost in its factional competitions. American conservatism needs to be reminded that it is a philosophy that has always dominated the land. We are by nature a deeply religious nation in the developed world. We are also market oriented and defensive of our constitutional rights and liberties. We have never succeeded by whining or being negative. We've also never succeeded by sticking with losing strategies!
Our future has to be based on more than Trump or the establishment. Give some new voices a chance. Take the best of the past, the best of Trump and combine with new voices for the future. I'm tired of the negativity and expectation of failure. This hasn't been the best version of ourselves. It's time to find it again! 😉
That is not a mention of fraud. Particularly while calling Trump being usurped a “loss”.
There is also no mention of the RINOs’ role in it.
The communists haven’t taken over the world?
Consider how much they do control, whether directly or through proxies. The Cold War never ended.
You obviously weren’t watching the same interview.
The attacks on Trump are directly tied to the USA’s future.
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